If you’re lucky enough to own an allotment, or even have access to a small garden, why not make 2012 the year that you take a few steps towards self sufficiency by growing your own vegetables? You may not be able to grow enough to replace trips to the supermarket entirely, but you’d be surprised at how great home-grown vegetables taste, and your family will be able to reap the benefits of home-grown, organic food. All you need to get started is some seeds, and some nutrient rich topsoil. Neither of those things are expensive, so you’ll save a lot of money by growing your own food.
The following tips will help you to pick out the best (and tastiest) vegetables to grow in your garden.
- Onions – especially the ‘Karmen’ red variety. These grow easily from seeds, and store well too, so you’ll reap the rewards of your efforts for a long time.
- Tomatoes – there are lots of tomato breeds that are suitable for patio growing. They produce good yields, but they aren’t generally as sweet as conservatory growing varieties.
- Sprouts – plant these in April, and they should be ready for gathering just before Christmas. Perfect timing!
- Courgettes – the ‘sunstripe’ variety of courgette is a new variety of striped courgette. It looks interesting, and tastes great.
- Aubergines – the ‘Pot Black’ aubergine is perfect for growing on a patio or in a greenhouse. So, if you’re short on garden space and suitable topsoil, consider investing in this small but appealing plant.
- Broccoli – some new purple broccoli variants can be grown at any time of the year. Once planted, they take about six months to start cropping, and produce shoots for a few weeks, so you could plant staggered batches if you wanted a steady supply.
- Peppers – if your growing area catches a fair bit of sunlight, you should be able to grow a decent batch of sweet peppers.
- Chillies – These look quite nice while they’re growing, and taste good too.
If you tried growing vegetables a few years ago, but were disappointed by poor yields, it’s well worth having a second attempt. Modern variants are hardier, produce better crops even in dull weather, and aren’t as demanding as some of the older variants. All you need is some nutrient rich topsoil, and a little patience.
If you don’t have a greenhouse, a polytube over the top of warmth-hungry plants will go a long way towards ensuring that they grow well. All you need to do is remember to water the plants if the summer is very dry, and you’re good to go.
If you aren’t convinced – star with something simple – windowsill herbs, or mushrooms in easy-to-grow kits, for example. With those kits, you don’t even have to worry about what kind of topsoil you have, everything is provided! Once you’ve tasted home-grown mushrooms, you’ll soon want to experiment with other edible produce.
Written by Amy Fowler on behalf of Garden Topsoil Direct.
Tagged: 2012, food, fruit, gardening, harvesting, topsoil, vegetables
